By Tyler Pager
President Trump gave Elon Musk a formal send-off on Friday after one of the most tumultuous experiments in modern American governance, in which the world’s richest man had free rein to slash the federal work force.
After roughly four months leading the Department of Government Efficiency, Mr. Musk ended up with a bruised reputation and a literal black eye, which he blamed on his 5-year-old son punching him in the face.
Mr. Musk said he would turn his focus to his businesses now that his time as a “special government employee” had ended. And while DOGE has not come close to delivering the $1 trillion in savings that Mr. Musk promised, he has racked up significant personal benefit in recent months — including having his allies chosen to run NASA and the Air Force, two key customers for his SpaceX company.
In the Oval Office on Friday, Mr. Trump praised Mr. Musk as “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced,” and said Mr. Musk would continue to advise the administration on cutting costs.
“The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time,” Mr. Musk said.
Mr. Musk’s chapter in Washington began with a chain saw and a deep well of support among Republican lawmakers and allies eager to assist his effort to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the government. It ended with a cordial joint news conference with Mr. Trump, where Mr. Musk was largely on the sidelines.
Even as the two men grew more distant over the past several months, Mr. Trump still went to great lengths Friday to show there was no animosity between them.
“Elon’s service to America has been without comparison in modern history,” Mr. Trump said, giving him a golden key emblazoned with the White House insignia.
Mr. Musk tried to strike a careful balance between demonstrating support for Mr. Trump — he signaled earlier this year that he would continue to provide financial assistance for the president — while also conveying to anxious shareholders that his attention would now focus on his private companies. He said he hoped to continue to be a “friend and adviser to the president.”
Mr. Musk has faced increasing scrutiny over his personal life, particularly over his drug use and his tumultuous relationships with the mothers of his many children. Mr. Musk brushed off questions on Friday about a new report in The New York Times about his use of drugs on the campaign trail.
While the event was billed as a send-off for Mr. Musk, it quickly turned into a largely solo news conference by Mr. Trump, who fielded questions that had nothing to do with DOGE. They included whether he had marital advice for President Emmanuel Macron of France after a video emerged that appeared to show his wife shoving him in the face. (“Make sure the door remains closed.”) Mr. Trump was also asked whether he would consider pardoning Sean Combs. (He said he had not given it much thought.)
Mr. Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla and SpaceX, said he was leaving because he had served 130 days in the administration, the legal limit for “special government employees.”
“I just want to thank Elon for his time as special government employee,” Mr. Trump said. “Can you imagine? We call him an employee, but it’s a special government employee — for coming and helping us, and he really has changed the mind-set of a lot of people.”
In turn, Mr. Musk, wearing a black T-shirt that said “The Dogefather,” heaped praise on the president.
“The Oval Office finally has the majesty that it deserves, thanks to the president,” he said, marveling at the gold that now adorns the office.
Mr. Musk enmeshed himself in Mr. Trump’s inner circle after he spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help Mr. Trump get elected. The president gave him wide latitude to cut government programs from his perch leading DOGE, and he became a constant presence at Mr. Trump’s side, traveling with him on Air Force One, sitting in on meetings with foreign leaders and participating in joint interviews.
But Mr. Musk also developed contentious relationships with members of Mr. Trump’s cabinet and other senior White House advisers. He sparred with cabinet officials over spending and personnel decisions and instilled fear throughout Washington because of his willingness to use X to attack his critics. Mr. Musk also angered officials, including Mr. Trump, when he sought to receive a sensitive briefing on China at the Pentagon, which the president only learned about from a Times report.
Mr. Musk has said he is departing Washington discouraged by the task of overhauling the government as he promised to do.
“It’s just a lot of work going through the vast expenses of the federal government,” he said when asked about the biggest obstacle to his team’s success.
Just a few weeks ago, Mr. Musk bragged about how easy it was save billions of dollars “in an hour.”
Mr. Musk’s DOGE team has repeatedly inflated its cost-saving efforts, but even so, the effect of the mass layoffs and program cuts has been deep. Some departments and programs have been almost entirely dismantled.
Mr. Trump enumerated several of the programs Mr. Musk’s team had found to eliminate, and the list seemed tailored to appeal to conservatives. He mentioned cuts to D.E.I. programs funded by the Department of Education and housing for migrants in New York City.
In recent weeks, Mr. Musk put distance between himself and Mr. Trump on some key issues. He complained about Mr. Trump’s sweeping tariffs on all major trade partners, and this week, he said he was “disappointed” by the domestic policy bill that the president championed. He argued the bill would increase the budget deficit, putting him at odds with the president and his senior advisers. Mr. Trump praised the bill Friday and urged Congress to pass it quickly.
Mr. Musk has said he will now devote more time to his private companies.
But, as Mr. Musk made clear Friday, he is not fully leaving Mr. Trump’s orbit. He told Mr. Trump’s advisers this year that he would give $100 million to political groups controlled by the president’s team before the 2026 midterms. As of this week, the money hadn’t come in, according to people familiar with the matter.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting.
